דניאל, פרק י״א, פסוק מ׳

Prophetic visions often leap forward across centuries to reveal the events leading up to the final redemption. As the end of days draws near, a massive military clash between great superpowers is destined to unfold [רש״י, מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. The conflict begins when the king of the south launches a forceful strike, pushing forward with the aggressive power of a horned animal charging its target [מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון].

The exact nature of these warring factions and their goals is viewed in a few different ways. The primary approach among commentators is that this is a direct war between two empires. In this view, the king of the south, identified as Egypt [אבן עזרא], attacks the king of the north, identified as Rome, prompting a fierce retaliation [רש״י, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. However, another perspective suggests that these two kings are not actually fighting each other. Instead, the southern king marches to fight a common enemy, Gog and Magog, who descend from the north to conquer Jerusalem, and the northern king rushes to his aid [מלבי״ם]. A third view connects these events to later imperial battles, identifying the southern king as the Turkish empire ruling over Egypt and fighting against the nation of Edom. In this scenario, the Turkish ruler is simultaneously considered the northern king due to his control over Greece [יוסף אבן יחיא].

Regardless of the exact participants, the military response from the north is devastating. The northern king strikes back with the sudden, violent force of a storm wind [אבן עזרא, מצודת ציון]. He launches a massive and powerful offensive [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ], deploying both land forces and a vast fleet of ships carrying warriors across the sea [מצודת דוד].

In the final stage of this campaign, the attacking army makes a sudden invasion into enemy territory. The military forces wash over the land and its people like an unstoppable, rushing flood of water [מצודת דוד, יוסף אבן יחיא, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Opinions differ on where this overwhelming conquest takes place. Some maintain that the military flood sweeps through the lands of Ishmael [מלבי״ם], while others believe it is a sudden takeover of the lands of Edom [יוסף אבן יחיא].